TRENTON — A defendant accused in the April 22 shooting at a Galilee Baptist Church funeral stated he was one step ahead of a judge Wednesday when the judge decided not to lower the man’s bail requirement.

Lawrence Sutphin, 36, of Trenton, informed the judge that he’d already posted the $30,000 bail amount and would soon be out of jail.

It was Sutphin’s second trip in and out of jail since the Galilee incident, during which a funeral for slain 19-year-old Cagney Roberts was shot up by what police say were several individuals, wounding three mourners and damaging the church building.

Sutphin, whom prosecutors say was in possession of a gun but did not discharge it during the Galilee shooting, was originally released on bail for that incident. Sutphin’s bail was initially set at $200,000 cash only, though it was subsequently reduced to $50,000 cash or bond, which he paid.

He landed back in jail June 20 when he allegedly called the Trentonian’s newsroom from the lobby of the paper on Perry Street and threatened to shoot a staff member over a story about him. Sutphin fled after staff called police, prosecutors said.

Sutphin was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats, with bail set at $30,000, the amount that Mercer County Superior Court Judge Gerald Council decided Wednesday not to change.

Sutphin’s out-of jail status could not be immediately verified.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Assistant Prosecutor Cindy Liccardo argued that Sutphin’s bail be maintained as she noted his lengthy criminal history, as well as the fact that authorities believe he did not fire his gun during the funeral.

Liccardo noted the bail amount was at the high end of the scale for making terroristic threats.

Anthony Cowell, Sutphin’s attorney, questioned the statements made by Trentonian staff, and at one point suggested that if his client’s comments were not criminal it would constitute a free speech issue.

Cowell also suggested the paper could be charged with libel if its reporting were found to be inaccurate.

But Liccardo noted that an inaccuracy in the Trentonian story would not have justified threatening to shoot somebody.

“The bottom line is free speech does not apply to criminal behavior and making terroristic threats is a criminal act,” Liccardo responded.

Last week, a judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Sutphin’s co-defendant in the Galilee case, Samuel Vincent, 18, of Trenton, who led cops on a chase in a stolen truck on June 12.

For his alleged role in the Galilee incident, Sutphin was charged with possessing a firearm while being a convicted felon, unlawful possession of a handgun, marijuana possession, and possessing a stolen firearm, a .40-caliber handgun from Falls Township, Pa., police have said.

Vincent was charged with possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose for allegedly firing in the direction of the church during Roberts’ funeral, unlawful possession of a handgun, possessing a defaced gun, and possession of hollow-point bullets in connection with the funeral shooting, according to arrest records.

The other co-defendants in the April funeral shooting — Terrence Maddox, 21, and Semier Vincent, 20, both of Trenton — remain in jail in lieu of $150,000 and $100,000 bail, respectively.

Maddox and Semier Vincent were charged with possessing a firearm for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a handgun and possessing defaced guns, because the serial numbers had been removed, arrest records show.